Ethics Opinions

ISBA Professional Conduct Advisory Opinion No. 12-06 Topics: Client Files; Law Firms Digest of the ISBA: “A lawyer must maintain records that identify the name and last known address of each client, and reflect whether the client’s representation is active or concluded, for an indefinite period of time. A lawyer must keep complete records of […]

Topic: Using Online Banking to Manage a Trust Account From the opinion: “Opinion rules that a law firm may use online banking to manage its trust accounts provided the firm’s managing lawyers are regularly educated on the security risks and actively maintain end-user security.” Rules: North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 North Carolina State […]

Committee on Professional Ethics  Lawyers’ participation in “Questions and Answers” websites is allowed but cannot import solicitation of clients. In Ethics Opinion 899, the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics opined that a lawyer may provide general answers to legal questions from laymen on interactive websites, but the lawyer cannot solicit clients […]

Opinion No. 361 of the District of Columbia Bar’s Legal Ethics Committee Summary of the Committee: “Lawyer’s Acceptance of Compensation From Non–Lawyer Entity for Referring Client to Such Entity; Opinion 245 Overruled in Part” “A lawyer who refers a client to a non–lawyer service provider such as a financial services firm may accept compensation from the […]

Office of General Counsel Formal Opinion 2010-02 Topics: Retention, Storage, Ownership, Production and Destruction of Client Files. Cloud computing.   Excerpts from the Opinion and comments from the editor’s of this website: Rules 1.15, 1.16 and 1.6 impose a duty of segregation, safeguarding and production upon request of client’s file (which is client’s property) but not […]

 Ethics Committee  Topic: Outsourcing of Legal Services Conclusion of the Committee: “A lawyer may ethically outsource legal support services to a nonlawyer who is not associated with the firm or working under the direct supervision of a lawyer in the firm if the lawyer (1) rigorously supervises the nonlawyer so as to avoid aiding the […]

Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas Topic: “Under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, may a Texas lawyer practice law as a partner or shareholder in a Texas office of a law firm that includes partners or shareholders who are licensed to practice law only in jurisdictions other than Texas and who […]

Opinion No. 352 of the District of Columbia Bar’s Legal Ethics Committee Topic: “Professional Responsibility Duties for Temporary Contract Lawyers and the Firms that Hire Them” Committee’s Summary: “The imputation of a temporary contract lawyer’s individual conflicts to a hiring firm under D.C. Rule 1.10 depends on the nature and extent of the lawyer’s relationship […]

Topic: “Opinion describes reasonable procedures for a computer-based conflicts checking system.” From the Opinion: “Every law firm must make its own determination as to what conflict checking procedures are reasonable, taking into account such variables as the size of the law firm, the type of practice, the cost of maintaining conflict checking records over a […]

Association of the Bar of the City of New York Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics Topic: File Retention and Obligation to Provide Electronic Documents relating to Representation   The full text is available at: http://www.nycbar…